Having easy access to accurate manufacturing key performance indicators is vital to effective management and production efficiency. Manufacturing KPI reporting is a major benefit of a PlantRun real-time manufacturing information system. The KPI data that is collected and stored by PlantRun can generate management reports or be displayed on manufacturing dashboards.

Reducing equipment or machine down time has an instant beneficial effect on manufacturing operational availability and output. However, without accurate information on the true amount and causes of unplanned downtime it can be difficult to identify how it can be reduced.

OEE highlights the “major losses” in the manufacturing process for focused improvement. It can then be used to measure the effect of efforts or initiatives introduced to reduce the major losses and thereby tap “hidden capacity”.

PlantRun systems continuously collect data from all monitored machines. This information is then presented on a PC display as a 'shop floor overview', which provides an instant picture of the condition of every machine. Similarly large format overhead displays can provide relevant KPI information in production areas.

Few manufacturers would admit to manufacturing unprofitable products even if they knew it. However, if you are manufacturing a range of products chances are that one or more could be unprofitable, unless you can accurately quantify the on costs of making each product line.

A manufacturing bottleneck is a constraint or choke point that limits production output. Many manufacturing operations suffer from bottlenecks caused by one or more machines and the bottleneck may change depending upon the actual product being manufactured. Identifying and managing manufacturing bottlenecks can have a major impact on output and profits.

Save 15 to 30 minutes per shift per operator? That’s what 41% of current users report*

Poor time keeping, operators starting late, taking extra time during breaks, finishing early and taking longer to restart a machine than they should is a typical scenario in many manufacturing companies.

Quick Changeover, also referred to as Setup Reduction aims to minimise non-value added activities during production changeover and the setup processes, enabling faster, more efficient change from one product to another.

The manufacturing cost per unit or production cost per unit is often a crucial metric and can vary greatly from one production run to another depending upon the input cost variables. An example would be when extra staffing is used to ensure rapid throughput at times of high demand.

Since it’s original development in Japan in the 1970’s OEE or Overall Equipment Effectiveness has become a widely used metric for measuring manufacturing efficiency. OEE is the main tool of the Total Productive Maintenance improvement program and is used to reduce or eliminate the “Six Big Losses” that limit production.

Acting as a mobile dashboard SmartView displays real time metrics directly from your PlantRun system allowing you to view the critical information you need for the smooth running of your business, whenever, wherever.

In complex and competitive global markets today, is more vital than ever to maximise the effective use of manufacturing equipment. Improving shopfloor management and operational visibility is now a requirement for leading manufacturers and the status quo no longer justifiable.

PlantRun is not a planning and scheduling system but aids production planning and scheduling as each new production run or batch is identified by a unique user defined batch reference. The information for that run or batch, including start and end times and all relevant monitored parameters, can then be stored in the system database against that unique batch reference.

Problem, breakdown or stoppage? Call for assistance at the push of a button.

Andon is a Japanese term for a system used in manufacturing to alert when there is a production problem in order to minimise any effect on output.With PlantRun this alert can be made by a worker pressing a button on the operator outstation at the asset or may be activated automatically when a system alarm is triggered.

Reducing machine downtime has an instant beneficial effect on manufacturing production efficiency and output. However, without accurate information on the real amount and the causes of downtime it can sometimes be a difficult to see how machine downtime can be reduced.

PlantRun systems act as a manufacturing notification system by distributing information whenever and wherever it is needed, based on events and alarms, to enable smoother running of your production operations.

The primary aim is to provide faster response to and minimise production issues.

Real time monitoring of machine speeds provides two main benefits for improved efficiency.

Firstly, it is possible to accurately monitor speeds against target levels for each machine and alert when they are performing out of range. In particular small variations in machine speed often go unnoticed by operators whereas a monitoring system can immediately alert the need for corrective action to be taken.

Data capture using barcode systems offers enormous benefits for manufacturers. Data capture is faster, more accurate and mistakes are minimized.

With a barcoding system you can easily obtain information that would be difficult or impossible to obtain otherwise. Faster access to information enables better management, better decision-making allowing you to gain advantages over the competition.

Having accurate information at production level is crucial to drive manufacturing efficiency and lean and continuous improvement initiatives. PlantRun provides a highly cost effective way of real-time production monitoring to enable you to;